Budding Television Star

[Darren Henry]

It's been a very busy week so haven't taken the time to hunt and peck [then back space and spell check LOL] many responses.

VIRG; You were very composed,relaxed, and spoke very well in that interview. You have obviously done public speaking at some point in your careers. Dennis may have started the Hollywierd idea as a lark---but if your back doesn't smarten up this time---something in the media/entertainment realm would certainly be an option. Your a natural. snicker If it gets bad enough you can even do like Ozzy Osborne's wife did and interview your guests from the comfort of a big soft bed.

I'm not a vain man---but it is kinda cool seeing yourself in the press isn't it. I was in some local papers and home town cable interviews back when I was mean and green. My turn to be the information officer, even though I was an NCO. I also had a couple of articles published in a little fishing magazine out of Winnipeg when I was in Kenora and actually had time to go fishing. My 15 minutes of fame I guess----unless I go postal and shoot my boss. Then I'll be big news LOL!!!!  (relax, he ain't worth the bullet , I'm just venting from a bad day)

BILL COSBY; Didn't mind his show---wasn't a Fat Albert guy----but his comedy record (or did my blood brother have it on 8 track) back in the  70's was hilarious ! Darrel has been dead since '83 and I still remember "Noah talks to God" and the one where the two boys get scared crossing the dark bridge from down town.

DOPING; Ben Johnson had better be in Belize after what he did to our country in the Olympics all those years ago. He was a national hero for being the fastest man on earth despite how little we help our amateur athletes. Then they take back the gold because he is the fastest bill bottle in Canada. I'll duct tape some antlers on him come fall if he's around and see if he can maintain 2731 f.p.s for 3 miles. I know my .303 can do 2730. Again just sayin' ! I'm too out of shape to walk 2 1/2 miles to get my horns back LOL! 

[Mike]

cool Virginia. I once was on the local news. in new Hampshire one year early winter I came ashore from a ride on a semi frozen lake and a news crew was doing a spot on how safe or lack of the ice was , I got all tounge tied not like you :)

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

After reading the praises of Darren and Mike, I must confess what happened the last time a microphone was shoved into my face.

Bob & I still lived in KS.  Bob's pride & joy was an 8 month old Corvette.  Had it detailed twice a week whether it needed it or not.  I woke up at 4 AM to what I thought was either thunder or a gun shot.  As long as I was up, I decided to go into the bathroom.  When I left the bathroom, I decided that maybe what I heard was someone hitting my van which we parked along the street sine we only had a one car garage.  Van looked fine but when I came back through the living room, I smelled burnt rubber badly.  Didn't think twice about it and crawled back into bed. Bob woke up and asked me what was up.  I recited my story and he decided he would take a bathroom break.  We had a long walk on front porch.  We had a 160 pound St Bernard in those days who loved sleeping on the porch so we left the storm door open.  Bob walked out on that porch and as he did, he saw a kid peering up over the hill on the cross break and then turn tail and run.  Like me, the van looked ok, so he came back to bed.  At that point, the St Bernard jumped up in bed, all wigged out (not his normal behavior).  So, we spent the rest of the night with Guenther in bed with us.  We went into work at 7 so our alarm went off at 5.  I got up and threw the dogs out and they started barking like crazy.  I ran out to quiet them down and as I got back into the house, the phone started ringing.  I figured it was a PO'd neighbor but it was the dispatcher asking us to respond to the patrol car in the street.  When I walked out on the exterior front porch, I saw hunks of our garage door everywhere along with 2 patrol cars.  I immediately knew that Bob's cherry vet was no longer so cherry.

What had happened, as we pieced it together, was that a 16 year old had gotten drunk with a buddy and decided to take his older brothers 74 chevelle ( a tank) for a joy ride.  Our basement garage was at the cross section of a street dead ending.  He ran the stop sign at a speed in excess of 50 mph, according to police estimates, and hit the garage door which splintered like crazy.  Hit the 'vet and slammed it into the foundation of the house (unfinished basement at that time).  The 'vet was flattened both front and rear.  Then the kid, slammed into reverse and backed out of the garage and took off like a bat out of hell.  To me that was the funny part.  I could hardly drive the 'vet into that garage as we had a very narrow drive with a rock wall on either side.  Not enough room to open a car door to get out in the drive and this kid backs a tank out of the driveway without getting so much as a scratch on the sides of his car.  The front and the vinyl top didn't look so good.  He high-tailed it home, took multiple cold showers and drank a ton of coffee and then went to the police station and turned himself in.  As luck would have it, we both had not only the same insurance company but the same agent.  That was your basic lose-lose situation but that's a story for another time.

The local ABC affiliate from Kansas City picked up the story from scanner traffic and called us to see if we had any objections to a reporter heading our way.  I thought Bob was pretty cool when they interviewed me but the section where I was interviewed did not do me any justice.  I was more than a bit tongue-tied and to this day, I feel that I come across as more than a bit mentally challenged.  We were on both the 5 and 6 news casts.  I'm sure we would have been on the 10 pm as well but Saddam Hussein decided to invade Kuwait that day so they ran with that story instead at 10.  A friend made us a VHS tape of the interviews as we didn't even have a VCR in those days as our car payment was astronomical.  I still have the tape.  When we want a good laugh, we pull out the tape and watch it.  We're both skinny as a rail and our hair has no gray in it.  Ah, to be young again. ; )

Virginia